I against I and Me against You
by Starlight's Poet
Summary: The day before Church's time-travel screw-up in killing Butch Flowers, a new sim trooper joins Blue Team. Except she's not really a sim trooper. "Awesome! We finally get a chick on our team!" "Can I kill him?" "No, Carol. You may not.
1. Chapter 1

**A Red Vs. Blue Fanfiction Story:**

 _ **"I against I and Me against You"**_

* * *

Episode I: Funky Monday

The Pelican ride had mostly been silent. Most of all, uncomfortable. She wasn't sure which was more uncomfortable: the fact that she was wearing the armor of a _simulation trooper_ of all things, albeit in cyan as she preferred, or that she had no one to talk to the whole ride. Admittedly, she wasn't one to start conversations, but the silence was slightly maddening. She wished that York was here. Maybe North. Hell, she'd take South.

She gave a low sigh, resting her head against the metal wall behind her before looking at her helmet. It was so ugly. Deformed. _Different_. This wasn't the armor she wanted to wear. It was insulting, but... This _was_ her armor. It would be her skin for who knew how long. It was the price to pay if she was to accomplish her goal.

[We'll be reaching Blood Gulch in T-minus 30. Better grab your stuff, recruit.]

She scowled. _Recruit_ , she spat in her mind. _I'm not some cannon fodder the Director can use as he sees fit. I'm..._

She trailed from that thought, realizing that, for the upteenth time today, her status no longer existed. As far as the UNSC-no, as far as Project Freelancer was concerned, she was dead and gone. She no longer existed.

A sad truth.

The Pelican shuddered, implying its approach to her new station. The place where she would be helping her friend guard Project Freelancer's most well-kept secret. The place where she would be protecting a certain idiot.

The place where _he_ was.

Her mouth went dry as she stood up, fastening her helmet. A low hiss emerged as it clicked into place, sealing around her neck and connecting with the life support system imbedded into the armor. Giving herself a once over, noting how ugly she looked in the armor of a sim trooper, she waited until the Pelican shuddered, then didn't move for several seconds.

Moments later, the door opened. Dust and dirt kicked into the room, wind whipping across her form. Not that she noticed. The first thing that came into view was small patches of grass mixed in with light brown and dark red earth. She grabbed her duffel and stepped out, hopping out of the entryway. Once she disembarked, the door slid back up and the Pelican began to rise up.

Looking up as it left, she noted how clear the sky looked. She could make out a few planets. She also gave her new post a quick look over. Nothing but rock and grass with stone walls, stretching out for miles. At the other end was the faint outline of the Red Army military base.

"So, this is Blood Gulch." she remarked. "Not very impressive."

"Maybe, but it's the closest you'll get to home after the first few months!" She turned around, finding an aqua-colored sim trooper behind her. Strapped to his back was a sniper rifle, and at his hip was the standard military-issue magnum pistol. Once she saw him, he raised a hand in greeting. "Welcome to Blue Base, old buddy."

She rolled her eyes, smiling thinly as she walked over and shook hands. "Good to see you again, Florida."

"Ah, ah, ah." the Freelancer agent wagged his finger. "Here, it's Captain Butch Flowers. Remember, Second Lieutenant Carol Mackenzie?"

Carolina shook her head. "You know, I'm still having a hard time believing this." she said, a hand at her hip. "Here I am in the middle of nowhere, wearing the armor of the guys that Project Freelancer has been using as cannon fodder for us, and I'm not a Freelancer anymore. A Lieuetant. A _Second Lieutenant_ _._ " She gave a heavy sigh, lowering her head. "How the mighty have fallen."

"At least you've got the advantage of being dead, as far as everybody else knows." Flowers offered her. "Texas is still on the run. Of course, maybe that's also apart of the Director's plans. Anyway, enough standing around here. Let me introduce you to your new family!"

God, how she missed that cheery voice of his. Out of everyone in Project Freelancer, Florida was the most laid-back person in the whole program. York and North not far behind in that regard. Much like Illonois, he didn't have much aspirations about being at the top of the leaderboard. Instead, he focused on the present and what came after the program.

She wondered how the Director would react if he ever found out how he was going behind his back by bringing her here.

Blue Base was a few miles away, easily identifiable by the blue lights that acted as its marker alongside the banners. An octangular facility with a few metal walls to act as cover, not that they would need them, though. If what _he_ said was of any indication, the only thing she needed to worry about was the "team-killing fucktard" and his Tank.

As they approached, Flowers bellowed, "Men, hussle up! Your new teammate has arrived!"

"Be right there, Captain!"

In a few minutes, two soldiers emerged from the base. One was wearing cobalt blue armor with a sniper rifle in hand. The other was dressed in regulation blue, pure blue all around with a golden visor. Carolina ignored the latter and focused mainly on the cobalt blue soldier.

 _That's him. It's really him._

Even if he had a physical body now, it would be hard not to recognize him.

"Men." Flowers saluted his two subordinates, who kindly reciprocated the gesture. "I told you all a few weeks ago, but Blue Team has received a tremendous addition. Allow me to introduce your new teammate, as well as your commanding officer in the event anything happens to me."

The blue soldier tilted his head. "So, he's our new boss in case you kick the can?" he asked with a suave tone. "Doesn't look like much."

Carolina gritted her teeth. He wouldn't be saying that once she got her hands on his candy ass.

"I can assure you, Second Lieutenant Mackenzie is a valuable asset." Flowers assured him. "At any rate, introduce yourselves."

"O-kay then. Names Tucker. Blue Team's resident ass-kicker and ladies man!"

 _Oh, God._ Carolina grimaced. _He's even worse in person._

"Ladies man?" the cobalt soldier scoffed. "Yeah, I don't see it." He then shrugged and returned his attention to her. "Names Church. Nice to meet ya."

"Carol." came the quick, albeit weak response as she tried to keep her composure. "Nice to meet you both."

Tucker recoiled. He looked at Church, who seemed equally as surprised before they looked at Flowers. "Um, Captain?"

"Yes, Private Tucker?"

"Is Lieutenant Mackenzie...?"

"A girl?" Flowers said in amusement. "Yes. Yes she is."

A second of silence. Then an obnoxious and grating laugh. "Awesome! We finally get a chick on our team!"

Carolina stared at Tucker for a millisecond before she turned to her old teammate, hand twitching and slowly reaching for her handgun. "Can I kill him?"

"No, Carol." Flowers said. She was sure the bastard was smiling. "You may not."

* * *

 _Project Freelancer, "Mother of Invention" – Many Years Ago_

* * *

In her cabin, Agent Carolina of Project Freelancer let out a soft groan as she leaned back in her chair, stretching her arms. In front of her was a holographic monitor, lined with several strands of information and data that was apart of her report.

"The only thing I hate about being Leader." the red-haired Freelancer remarked wryly.

Following the completion of their latest mission, a sabotage at an old factory facility deep in Southern Africa, Carolina needed to write a detailed and well-documented report of their findings. Afterwards, she was to send it to the Director. If there was anything amiss, she would be on the receiving end of a very painful lecture.

Not that she would. She's done this thousands of times. By this point, the reports practically wrote themselves.

Leaning forward, she grabbed her cup of decaff, taking a drink before setting her vibrant yellow mug down on the table. Then, she resumed writing her report.

 _ **...the facility, as we had come to suspect, was designing weapons and researching alien technology leftover from the Covenant War many years ago. While the purpose behind the investigation of the artifacts is unknown, there was documented evidence discovered by Agents Wyoming and South Dakota that proves the militia occupying the factory was selling these weapons to the Insurrectionists.**_

 _ **After downloading their data to an external hard drive, we proceeded to destroy their computers. Once our objective was met, we proceeded with the destruction of the factory.**_

 _ **The militia will no longer be producing weapons for the Insurrectionists.**_

 _ **There is one thing that caughy my attention was I analyzed the data en route to the extraction point, though. It seems that, once they've finished researching alien tech, they're to deliver it to someone by the codename of "Scout."**_

 _ **I've cross-referenced our databases and came up empty. Whoever "Scout" is, they're an unknown. At present, we are unaware whether or not he is a third party, or he is somehow involved with the Insurgents.**_

 _ **At any rate, all the remaining data we've recovered has been sent to the analysts here at the Mother of Invention. Hopefully, once our next mission is assigned, they'll be able to make sense of what the enemy is up to.**_

 _ **On a more minor note, I would like to recommend to my commanding officers that Agent South Dakota be paired with Agent North Dakota, as of this document being written, be paired together in the future. On multiple occasions, Agent South threatened to stray from mission parameters and disobey orders and frequently fought with Wyoming.**_

 _ **According to statistics, however, her behavior is significantly reduced and more subdued, though she is still aggressive.**_

 _ **End of report.**_

Her fingers ceased their movements and her hand drived over to the holographic screen, saving the document and then proceeding to deliver it to the Director. Given how late it was, he would most likely read it tomorrow, but it was still better to deliver it now rather than later. She pushed herself away from her desk, grabbing her mug and taking a drink.

Only to find that it was empty.

"Damn." Carolina cursed mildly before a yawn emerged from her throat. She held a hand over her mouth to stifle it, though a sudden drowsiness made itself apparent. "Guess it's time to hit the hay."

She stood up, pushing her chair back into the desk. She made it just halfway to her bunk when she suddenly heard a series garbled sounds and distorted cries, muffled as they were, from behind her. Looking over her shoulder, she found the monitor wracked with heavy static.

"What the..."

Frowning, Carolina walked over and checked to see what the problem was. Given her position, she was naturally required to understand all the equipment at her disposal, however mundane. That also went for any electronics in her room. If she was reading this right, there was a system interference and some kind of backdoor program being launched.

 _Virus_ was the first thing that came to mind. She was about to run a counter program and cease all operations of her computer when the static grew worse, warping and twisting.

Then, without warning, it ceased. The screen flickered and spluttered before returning to normal. All systems were functioning properly. There was no trace of the backdoor program or the system interference.

"What was that?" Carolina muttered in confusion. She made a mental note to contact the techies onboard the ship and have them look at her equipment to see if there was any potential risk involved.

She turned away and then gasped.

Lying, in the middle of the floor, was a soldier in white armor. No, wait. It wasn't a soldier. Soldiers weren't transparent. She could see the faint grooves of the metal tiles that made up her floor. Also, soldiers didn't glitch like a computer program that was weirding out or suffered damage.

The transparent soldier wasn't some figment of her imagination, either. She heard a ping in the alert system connected to the vambrace on her left arm. Her green eyes narrowed at the glitching soldier, quickly running a diagnostics program.

The result was-

"An AI?!"

She double-checked. Her eyes weren't deceiving her. The transparent soldier, groaning and lying on the floor, was an AI. A damaged AI, but an AI nonetheless.

Immediately, Carolina looked back to her computer. Then she looked back at the AI. She now understood why her monitor was acting so funny. The AI had used a system interference to throw the ship's own AI, F.I.L.S.S, off guard while using the backdoor program to inflitrate. Still, how strange. What was it doing here? In her room, no less? An enemy tactic?

Carolina immediately put a hand to the communicator on her earlobe. She needed to report this. If need be, she'd use her computer to hold the AI. Given how it was glitching horribly, it was obviously in disrepair. Even if it wasn't an enemy program, it was still an unknown. She did NOT like having an unknown on board.

No sooner had she established a connection with F.I.L.S.S and ready to report this, she heard the AI mutter faintly.

"All...ison..."

Her heart stopped.

 _What. Did it. Just say?!_

* * *

 **Simmons: Hey.**

 **Grif: Yeah?**

 **Simmons: You ever wonder why we're here?**

 **Grif: I dunno man. That is a good question. Like, why are we here? Are we like puppets for our creators to use? Y'know, just get some cheap thrills and laughs at the expense of our own suffering and humility? I dunno...but it keeps me up at night?**

 **Simmons: ...what? I mean, why are we here, doing the Author's Note, instead of being back at RoosterTeeth, waiting for Season 16 to be announced, if there even is a S16!**

 **Grif: OH. Um...**

 **Simmons: And what's that stuff about our creators and puppets?**

 **Grif: Hm? Oh, nothing.**

 **Simmons: You, uh, wanna talk about it?**

 **Grif: No. I'm good.**

 **Simmons: Seriously, though. Why are we here? Is he just too lazy to do it himself?**

 **Grif: Well, he _is_ working on Metastability right now as he's working on this.**

 **Simmons: Yeah, but still. He could at least tell his readers what the fuck is going on. I mean, how did Church end up in Carolina's room? When even _is_ that?!**

 **Grif: Who cares? You know what I care about? The fact that Carolina's in Blood Gulch. With us. On Blue Team.**

 **Simmons: ...oh, fuck.**

 **Grif: Yep. Remind me to order reinforced cod-pieces.**

 **Simmons: For Carolina? Or for Tex?**

 **Grif: Both.**

 ***meanwhile, with the Blues***

 **Caboose: Oh my GAWD! Giant faces!**

 **Tucker: Caboose! Those are the readers!**

 **Caboose: ...please don't take Church away, misters and misses Death.**

 **Tucker: (facepalms) Jesus fucking Christ...**


	2. Chapter 2

**A Red Vs. Blue Fanfiction:**

 _ **"I against I and Me against You"**_

* * *

Episode II: Booze Gives You Buds

It had taken the whole day for Carolina to realize her situation.

 _This is it. Rock bottom. The absolute bottom. You can't get any lower than this._

She still had trouble wrapping the idea around her head. As someone who had been once a high-ranking operative – the best that Project Freelancer had to offer – the idea of being a mere simulation trooper was still insulting for her. It was hard for her to accept that fact, but it was mostly just one giant blow to her pride. For years, she prided herself on being untouchable. That no one had ever taken her spot on the Leaderboard. That was a fact.

But...that was Project Freelancer. The group she once called her family. The group that was broken apart because of a man who just couldn't let go of the past.

Now, she was just a mere scrub. A simple soldier. Cannon fodder. A simulation trooper.

On the one hand, this idea was insulting. Part of her wondered what the hell she was thinking, choosing to forfeit her pride. On the other hand, she had made a promise. A promise she was determined to keep, even if it killed her. And that promise was the whole reason she was even here in the first place.

Due to Blood Gulch's bizarre placement, there was no night time. That didn't mean there was a curfew. By now, the rest of Blue Base was out cold. Even so, Carolina couldn't sleep. She had spent the last hour awake, having tried and failed to go to sleep. When it became clear that she wasn't going to bed anytime soon, she threw on her equipment and left the base, choosing to go out on a scouting.

The layout of Blood Gulch was somewhat familiar to her, though she didn't pay it much mind. She headed up to the cliffside, sniper rifle hoisted on her shoulder and rifle in hand. Once Red Base was in sight, she swapped weapons and aimed it at the opposing encampment. There didn't seem to be any activity, other than the occasional bizarre sounds from the lizards that were crawling around the place.

"I wonder how York's doing...?" Carolina thought aloud, lying flat on her stomach, zooming in on Red Base. "Knowing him, he's probably trying to lay low. Maybe breaking into a few stores."

Upon thinking about York, her mind wandered back to Project Freelancer. More specifically, the time she spent with a certain jackass. A somber, yet happy smile crossed her face beneath the helmet.

She wondered if Church was still a jackass...

* * *

 _Project Freelancer, Mother of Invention – Years Ago_

* * *

"...there were signs of viral infiltration, but it was sloppy." Aiden Price, the Counselor of the Project and the Director's number two man, said as he and a few other crew members examined the glitching console Carolina had been using earlier. "There were no signs of any virus' being implanted, nor probes. Were there any other unusual signs?"

Carolina shook her head. "No. I had FILSS run it through before you got here. It doesn't seem like this was an actual attempt to infiltrate the database. Maybe a probe attack?"

"Possibly." Price nodded his head. "We will be investigating it further."

After another few minutes of investigation, the crew and Price left. Carolina watched them leave, leaning in her doorway. Their backs vanished from sight and she soon slipped back inside, shutting the door behind her. Glancing around her room, she tapped the device on her wrist and de-activated some of the security footage, providing a repeated loop. It was a trick York had taught her around the time they decided to "occupy themselves with free time." She didn't think she would ever have a use for it, though.

Once she was sure that there was nobody watching her on anything, she sighed in annoyance before tapping the small band on her ear. "You can come out now."

For a moment, there was nothing. Then, pixels and polygons began to dance within her field of vision, forming into a solid, sapphire blue shape. "God fucking dammit that hurts..." the AI that had sneaked in through her computer groaned, rubbing its neck before craning its neck, probably giving her a glare of some kind. "What the fuck did you do? And more importantly, where the fuck am I? And who the fuck are you?"

 _Well, he's certainly the most vulgar sounded AI I've met._

"I heard that!" the AI snapped at her before it then realized its predicament. "Wait a second... D-did you just put me inside your head?!"

"It's only temporary." Carolina told it evenly. "And I have some questions for you. Depending on how you answer, one of two things are going to happen. One, I let you stick around. Two, I hand you over to the Director."

The AI balked. "E-excuse me?" it asked in disbelief. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?! I ain't your prisoner, you bitch!" Then, it paused for a moment, staring at her before speaking up again. "Wait... Did you say the Director? As in, the Director of Project Freelancer?"

"Who do you think I'm talking about?" Carolina snorted.

"...are we in Project Freelancer?"

"Congratulations, you've successfully snuck inside the Mother of Invention, home base to one of the last bastions of humanity." she said sarcastically with a small grin. "And you just happened to sneak on board."

The AI was silent for a moment. Then, it pressed its hand against its helmet before it groaned. "Oh, fuuuuuuuuuck me..."

* * *

 _Blood Gulch – Present Day_

* * *

Carolina snickered slightly. Her first meeting with Church had been quite the interesting one, albeit strange. Thinking back on it now, it was her first real glimpse at what her life was about to become, even if she wasn't made aware of it yet. She did feel a little bad, treating him horribly in the first few weeks of their forced partnership. In all honesty, the only reason she hadn't turned him over to the Director by then was because of what he had told her. About a future that she doubted would come to pass.

At least, not if she couldn't help it.

"...and look, I'm telling you, he isn't going to notice a damn thing."

"And I keep telling you, when Sarge wakes up, he's going to be pissed you broke into his stash of beer!"

Carolina blinked. She turned her head, finding two soldiers come into view, one maroon and another orange, the latter of which holding a six pack. When the orange one noticed her, he promptly stopped in his tracks like a deer in headlights.

"Grif?" the maroon soldier asked. "What's the matter?" He then noticed her. He then proceeded to mimic the now-named Grif's actions and froze on the spot while Carolina stared at them blankly beneath her helmet. "Oh, shit..."

A tense silence fell between them.

"...sup?" Grif broke it weakly, holding up the six pack. "You, uh...want one?"

* * *

When Grif offered her a beer, Carolina debated shooting them on the spot. Cut down a few soldiers. Then she decided against it, namely because she could use a good excuse to get shitfaced, however unlikely. Thus, she sat with the two enemy soldiers before her, helmets removed. Simmons, for some reason, wore thick-rimmed glasses with neat autumn-burned hair neatly swept back. He looked rather nerdy, if she was being honest. Grif, on the other hand, looked like a total slob. He had chubby cheeks and a freshly shaven peach fuzz, coupled with messy dark hair.

"This is total bullshit." Grif complained as he chugged down the last of his beer can before moving on. "How come the Blues get a girl on their team?!"

Carolina's eyebrow twitched. She was tempted to grab her pistol. There was nothing to stop her. However, Florida had told her that she wasn't allowed to kill them. The whole reason why Church was placed here was because Blood Gulch was meant to mirror another testing area where the teams had been locked into an epic stalemate. To continue that illusion, she wasn't allowed to kill any of the soldiers on Red Team.

...but they only needed two people, right?

"Grif, be nice!" Simmons admonished his friend before turning to her. "Sorry about him..."

"Let me make this clear." Carolina said simply as she took a quick drink of her can before tapping her hands against her holster. "Only reason you two aren't dead is because I really, _really_ needed a fucking drink. Get the picture?"

Simmons whimpered. "C-crytsal..."

"Whatever." the fatass burped. "So, blue, how'd you end up here?"

"None of your business. How's that for an answer?"

"Fine, fine. Geez, you on your period or something?" Carolina scowled, reaching for her gun. Grif promptly held up his hands in defense. "H-hey! It was a joke! Fuck, take a chill pill."

Simmons sighed. "That's what you get for trying to piss someone off." he said, shaking his head. "Again, I'm really, miss..."

"Carol." Carolina answered curtly. "Second Lieutenant Carol Mackenzie."

The two froze. "...wait, back up. _Second Lieutenant_?" Grif asked in disbelief. Carolina nodded. The orange soldier stared at her before he threw his hands in the air. "Seriously?! We're stuck with a nutty seargent, and the Blues have a girl for a boss?!"

That was technically half-true. She was a superior to the blue simulation troopers, but Florida was the one in charge with the higher rank. Not that she'd tell them. If anything, seeing the fatass stress out was fun.

"S-so sorry for the d-disrespect, ma'am!" Simmons suddenly said, stiff as a board.

Carolina chuckled. "It's fine." she said before finishing her beer and going for another one. As she popped it open and drank, she soon frowned. "Fuck... This isn't going to get me wasted anytime soon."

"Well, sorry to burst your bubble lady, but this is all we can steel from Sarge's stash without him noticing." Grif said. "And I am not sharing my stash of booze."

"Of course you wouldn't, fatass." Simmons rolled his eyes. "More importantly, what were you trying to do with Lopez?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you were poking him all over the place and asking him something."

"Well, I saw him drinking motor oil. Since we don't got much of anything else, I wanted to know if it tasted good. Bastard wouldn't give me an answer, so I tried to pester him all day."

Simmons sighed. "Grif, you do realize that Lopez is-"

"WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU TWO?!" a roughe southern voice shouted. Immediately, Carolina was on guard and fell to the ground, grabbing her sniper rifle. Through her scope, she found a soldier holding a shotgun looking around Red Base, dressed in standard red armor. "DAMMIT, SIMMONS! I EXPECT YOU TO BE ON TIME! IT'S APPROXIMATELY THREE AM! YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS!"

Grif groaned. "Fuck, I forgot about that..."

"We better get down there before Sarge comes looking for us." Simmons said, getting up and slipping on his helmet. "Um, f-feel free to drink the rest of the beer, ma'am!" With a stiff farewell, Simmons and Grif left the area, heading back to Red Base.

Carolina watched them go, making sure to stay out of sight lest she be seen by the commander of Red Team. She looked back at the remaining cans of beer. There were two left. Hardly enough to get her drunk.

She looked back at Blue Base. Then back at the cans. Shrugging, she set her rifle down and went back to drinking, hoping that, by some miracle, she could get shit-faced and drown her sorrows.

 _...god she missed her friends._

* * *

 **Church: Hey, asshole. You're late!**

 **Sarge: And what kind of introduction was that?! You completely skipped the badass introduction of Red Team!**

 **Me: Well, excuse me for being busy on other stories and dealing with a fucking ulcer!**

 **Caboose: Wait! ...where was me and Sheila?**

 **Me: Don't worry. You'll get your spotlight, Caboose. In the meantime, here. Have an orange.**

 **Caboose: Um, yeah, I-I can't drink orange juice.**

 **Me: What? Why not?**

 **Tucker: Ugh. Don't ask.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A Red vs. Blue Fanfiction Story:**

" _ **I against I and Me against You"**_

* * *

Episode III: Meet Mission Disaster

In the end, Carolina had managed to get drunk, if the marginal headache that plagued her was any indication. The sad part is, she remembered what happened last night. It was hardly anything embarrassing, aside from stripping as she entered Blue Base and threw her clothes aside before getting into bed. Tucker had made a snide comment about her sleeping in the nude the best thing he's heard or seen since he got to Blood Gulch.

Naturally, she made him pay the viewing fee with a sucker punch to the gonads. It also doubled as a warning not to peek on her. Church was laughing at his expense.

After suiting up, Florida had come to find her and led her out of the base, heading into a cave system. "Where's all this lead?" she asked curiously, holding her assault rifle in hand in case something happened.

"An old catacomb system." her comrade answered her. "Before Blood Gulch was to be made a testing ground facility for Project Freelancer, it was an outpost during the Covenant War. During bombardments, the soldiers stationed here would take refuge in the catacombs. Some had taken to holding themselves up here and running technical support. When the fighting moved away, though, and the soldiers reposted elsewhere, they left behind their equipment. Good thing, too."

He jumped over a small chasm with ease. Carolina followed after him, sliding down a nearby slope. The system looked pretty old, but fairly stable. There were light posts set to guide anyone who got lost, along with a mess of cables snaking about the ground. She damn near tripped on one of them. Eventually, though, stone became replaced with metal plating. Florida led her down what seemed like a corridor, showing her a command room of some sort. At the far end of the room was a giant console, screens lit up with different pictures of the Red and Blue bases.

"Carol," Florida waved his hand in a grandoise manner. "May I introduce Blood Gulch's mission control, VIC."

"VIC?"

"Virtual Intelligence Computer." he explained. "It's not an advanced AI like the Alpha was, but it helps keep up the illusion that the Red and Blue Army are at each other's throats. Its primary directive is to ensure that Church never discovers the truth. In the event the simulation ends, VIC has priorities to schedule a transfer and send him to another location."

She tensed. "Where?"

"Unfortunately, that's up to the Director." Florida said regretfully. "Of course, I'm trying to make sure that doesn't happen and keep this war going as long as possible."

"I take it it's other directive is to ensure the war keeps going?"

He nodded. "That's right, Lieutenant." he said cheerfully. "In the event that a soldier is killed, they'll be replaced by a Freelancer agent." He leaned over and tapped a few keys. Surveillance on both teams was promptly put on halt, the feeds cut off. Instead, the monitors showed off a list of names, each very familiar. "They're not aware what the Director is like, but most of them are trustworthy."

"...you put Wash's name on the list." Carolina remarked blandly, staring at him flatly. "No offense, but isn't he still a rookie?"

"And clearly, you haven't been keeping up with your old friends."

Carolina gritted her teeth. While she wouldn't deny that, she still hated the fact that she was unable to get into contact with anyone. For years, she had put up the idea and illusion that she was dead. It would be troublesome if the Director knew she was still alive. The only reason she was even here was because Florida had somehow managed to track her down and covertly asked for her help. He was the only person she was able to catch up with, after all this time. But as for the others… York…

"...you know why I haven't been able to keep up, _Butch_."

"Right, sorry." Florida had the decency to look ashamed as he rubbed the back of his neck. "But, to clarify, Wash has been doing better. He's been recently made as a Recovery Agent. Unfortunately, he's been partnered with South."

 _Ooh, ouch. My sympathies, Wash._ Carolina secretly prayed for his health. South wasn't a bad person, per say, but she could be difficult. It was why most of the time, she was partnered with her brother North. He had been the one most capable to handle her. The fact that poor Washington of all people being forced to work with her was enough to make anyone in Project Freelancer pray for him.

"Hope he hasn't killed himself yet." Carolina said dryly. "Or gotten himself killed. Either, or." She looked at the list again and frowned. "Really? You have Wyoming here on this list too?"

"He's good for some things." the blue-armored Freelancer replied. "At any rate, we should head back. Need to make sure the boys haven't killed themselves." He turned to leave, but he found himself tripping over one of the cables, accidentally pulling it from the consoles. "Oh, darn it!"

The red head smirked. "Should've cleaned up, Florida." she teased as she turned her back to the console, just as the screens glitched out and warped before settling back down again.

"Hey, now! Didn't I tell you to call me Cappy?"

"Flowers, it will be a cold day in hell before I call you that."

* * *

 _Project Freelancer, Mother of Invention – Many Years Ago_

* * *

"Check again!"

"I did. Five times already. Look, obviously you're memory is scrambled from when you got tossed into the Mother of Invention."

"No, it ain't! I keep telling you, there's a chick named Agent Texas! Now, check again!"

Carolina sighed in annoyance, pinching the bridge of her nose. She felt a headache crawling up the back of her neck. She wasn't entirely sure why she was doing this. The AI was clearly not stable, maybe suffering from rampancy. It claimed it was apparently from the future of all things, and that it was a soldier named Leonard L. Church, originally stationed at Blood Gulch under Captain Butch Flowers alongside two other soldiers named Lavernius Tucker and Michael J. Caboose.

She ignored the middle part of that explanation, considering who else shared the name Leonard Church.

Continuing on, the AI said that it was facing off against the Reds until it was accidentally killed by Caboose while he was piloting a tank. Then it came back as a ghost to try and dissuade them from hiring another Freelancer agent named Texas from getting involved.

She would go on, but honestly, the story sounded quite far-fetched. Time travel aside, there were several facts that she doubted were real. York was still alive, for one. They didn't have AIs partnered with them, and Washington wasn't fucked up as it claimed he was. And she didn't know anything about some Freelancer killing individual called the Meta. His description matched Maine, but while he was a man of few words, he wasn't mute. And nor was he crazy or fucked up in the head. He was violent, yes, but to him, all of Project Freelancer was family. Comrades who worked together for a common goal. And that was a trust he would not break.

"Face it, _Leonard_." Carolina drawled out his name, saying it in a way that obviously ruffled its feathers. "You're wrong. There's no Freelancer named Tex here. There is no Meta. And Wash isn't crazy."

"And I keep telling you, you're wrong!" the AI snapped back, folding its arms. "Okay, look here, red-head. We can keep dancing in circles like this all day, but I know for a god damn fact that what happened, or what is about to happen, _will fucking happen_."

"And how are you so sure?"

"Because you Freelancer dipshits always find a way to fuck everything up!"

Carolina scowled, finding its words insulting. She was not about to listen to some faulty program make fun of her and her comrades, much less everything they had been working for all this time. "Look here, you little-"

[Agent Carolina.] F.I.L.S.S broke into her intercomm. [The Director requests you at the Deck for a new Mission Briefing.]

 _Already?_ Carolina thought. It hadn't even been 24 hours since she returned from her latest assignment. Regardless, she didn't want to keep the Director waiting. She looked at the door, about to take her leave before she looked at the AI and glared at it. "I'm putting you back to sleep." she said coldly. "We're finishing this when I get back. And when we do, I am handing you over to the Director."

"What?!" the AI cried, form flaring in anger. "You motherf-!" That was as far as he got before she forced him to go offline. Rubbing her temples, Carolina wondered why in the hell she hadn't done this before. It would have saved her the headache. Why was she even humoring this thing anyway? It would be easier just to hand it over and defrag it and learn everything there was to know about it that way.

Deep down, though, she knew the reason why. What it had said when it found its way into her cabin. Calling out a name that she had engraved forever into her mind.

 _Just how in the hell does an AI know my mother?_

One way or another...she was getting answers.

* * *

 _Blood Gulch – Present Day_

* * *

Just like before when it came time for curfew, Carolina found herself unable to sleep. And apparently, neither could Church, as she found him sitting on the roof of the base, legs dangling over the edge.

"Private?" she called behind him, approaching while trying to keep her composure. She had to remember. As far as he was aware, this was their first actual meeting. "What're you doing up?"

"Couldn't sleep. Same as you, probably." Church told her. "To be honest, it's hard to sleep when your roommate listens to poor all fucking night. Or day. Or whatever the hell passes for nighttime here in this box canyon."

Carolina grimaced. She had heard how bad Tucker's perversity was, but...was it really that bad? Well, then again, he did confess to catching her naked, so maybe. Sucking a breath and trying to calm herself down, lest she panic and blow her cover, she took a seat next to him. "He does seem like an idiot."

"You have _no_ idea!" Church threw his hands up. "I mean, when he found out our CO's second-in-command is a girl, that being you, he hasn't shut up about it since yesterday! Keeps fucking bragging about it. I'm telling you, it is getting on my nerves."

Carolina smirked underneath her helmet. _If you think Tucker is annoying, just wait until you meet Caboose._ She thought mischievously. She had to admit, she wanted to see for herself what kind of kid this Caboose was. From what he had told her, he practically worshiped the ground on which Church walked on, but he knew his way around electronics. And for some reason, he was in love with a tank installed with a smart AI named Sheila.

"I can only imagine. So, tell me, Private. What were you doing before you ended up here in Blood Gulch?"

Church shrugged. "Eh, nothing fancy. I used to be stationed at Sidewinder with my partner, Jimmy. But, then my ex came in and..." He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's a long story." She would have asked for more, but she didn't press it. After all, she had already heard this story before. Or, at least, the story that Church believed. She wished she could tell him the truth, but...she had to remember.

The Alpha AI next to her...was not the Church she had bonded with over the course of her career before everything went spiraling out of control.

"How about you, Lieutenant Mackenzie? What did you do before getting stuck here?"

"Call me Carol." she insisted. "And I used to be in special forces. To make a long story short, a good friend of mine died and I… I needed to some time off. I left my squad and Flowers offered me a chance to blow off some steam."

"By...coming here? To the rat's ass end of nowhere?"

She laughed lightly. "C'mon, it can't be that bad."

"Tell you what, Carol. You stay in a room with Tucker for a week. Then you can tell me you won't hate this place."

Even if she did, Carolina doubted she would come to hate this place. And even if she did come to hate it, it would only be because she failed. Just as Tex had been designed to do. Carolina had to remind herself: she was not Texas. She was not meant to fail. She was a former Freelancer Agent. The Number 1. The best of the best. She was going to do whatever it took to protect him.

She wasn't going to let him say goodbye. Not this time.

* * *

 **Tucker: Whoa, shit! Double update! And talk about some heavy shit, too.**

 **Sarge: This is an outrage! Why is it that I wasn't mentioned at all in this chapter?! Simmons and _Griff_ for God's sake got more screentime than me!**

 **Church: Oh, quit your bitchin' Sarge. Like anybody cares.**

 **Sarge: You'll be caring, Blue, once you get a taste of my _Red Team Kick Ass Shotgun Strategy!_**

 **Simmons: While everyone else is arguing, here's what I wanna know…**

 **Griff: What's that?**

 **Simmons: When does the canon events start?**


	4. Chapter 4

**A Red vs Blue Fanfiction:  
** " _ **I against I and Me against You"**_

* * *

Episode IV: Boom Boom Goes Florida

The talk with Church had been relatively nice, all things considered. Carolina liked to think she understood him a little better, though she still had to remind herself that this wasn't the same Church she had bonded with. Even so, he was still Alpha. Her partner. Her... _friend._

God, that just sounded weird in her head! If he ever heard her say that, he'd hound her and hold it over her head for years to come.

At any rate, it was now her third day here at Blue Base. It was still taking time to get used to everything. Especially Tucker. She couldn't count the amount of times she's smacked him around for making a lewd comment or his constant attempts with flirting with her. Church mostly kept to himself, but he did often take the time to bitch about the state of things, even if they were just mostly minor.

As for Florida, the man was quite busy. She hardly saw him around the Base, no doubt up to his own devices and playing the role of the faithful soldier Command wanted him to be. She wondered what the Director would say if he ever learned that he was actually working against him.

Currently, she was helping Church and Tucker test out one of the functioning teleporters on the base. It hadn't been tested yet, despite them having been here for quite a while before Florida pulled some strings to get her here under her new identity as Carol Mackenzie. The teleporter seemed to be fluctuating a bit, thus they were uncertain as to whether or not they should jump inside to test it. So, instead, they decided to toss rocks through it. Church and Carolina were at the Base, fiddling with it while Tucker waited at the site where the teleporter was linked out on the field, in the event they needed to quickly intercept the enemy.

"There." Carolina announced as she moved away. "Should be working now." She put her hand against her helmet, bringing up communications. "Tucker, did they come out on the other side?"

"Yeah!" the standard blue armored soldier and resident pervert called back. "But, they're smoking and black."

Church cocked his head. "That supposed to happen?" he asked.

"Maybe you guys have it cranked up too high?" Tucker suggested.

Carolina snorted. Too high? What did he think it was? A microwave? Still, the concern was valid. What was that black stuff coating the rocks? Soot, perhaps? "I'll keep fiddling with it." she said, grabbing her wrench and hammer. "Church. Toss a few more rocks in, will you?"

Before Church could respond, Florida emerged from out the base. "Everyone." he called out. "Sorry to interrupt, would you all mind huddling up?"

"Sure!" Carolina shouted back. "Tucker, come on back. Captain Flowers is calling for a meeting." She closed the communication link before she and Church made their way down the base, hopping off the edge. Afterwards, they made their way over to Flowers, who was waiting for them patiently by the entrance. "What's the matter now, Flowers?"

"Oh, nothing, really. Wanted to see how you were adjusting to your time here is all, Carol."

Carolina raised an eyebrow before she folded her arms. "I've been here for three days." she said plainly. "But, if you're asking if I'm getting along with the Privates, so far all I've done to actually harm any of them is punch Tucker as payment for peeping on me."

"Technically, you deserved that for sleeping in the nude." Church pointed out to her. "And secondly, where the fuck did you get booze? I've been trying to ask Captain Flowers to order some for _weeks_!"

Florida sighed, shaking his head. "Church, we have been over this. Simply because the Reds have been fairly docile these last couple of weeks doesn't mean you should slack off. And besides, alcohol is bad for your health! Imagine what it does to your liver."

 _You say that, but every chance you got, you went drinking with us after a mission_. Carolina wanted to call him out, but refrained from doing so, choosing instead to remain silent. Of course, that being said, she was going to scold him later when she was sure there were no prying eyes.

Tucker soon arrived, jogging over to the base. "I'm here." he announced, slightly out of breathe. "What's up, Sir?"

"Tucker..." Florida groaned. "I told you, call me Captain! Or, Cappy… I don't want silly things like order or rank to ruin the dynamic."

"Oh. Okay, then." Tucker shrugged. "Captain it is."

"...I am truly commanding the finest army in all of Blood Gulch."

The red head rolled her eyes. _Sheesh, melodramatic much_? She thought. Florida always did have a flair for the dramatic. Still, did he have to lay it on thick? "So, why did you call us? Doubt it's for a social call or to ask us how we're doing."

"Oh, right. Sorry." Florida laughed, rubbing the back of his neck before clearing his throat. "It's my pleasure to inform you that we will be increasing our staff here at Blood Gulch Outpost Alpha. Within the next week, we will be receiving a new shipment from Command: the M808 Main Battle Tank, designated as Scorpion, and a new soldier!"

Carolina's eyes widened. A new soldier? So soon? Tucker, on the other hand, looked excited. "Is it a chick?" he asked, typical of him.

"No, Private. Michael J. Caboose is male, I can assure you." Florida told him, much to his disappointment. Carolina internally snickered, however, as she knew who Caboose was. It seemed that Church's suffering was coming sooner than she thought he would. "In the meantime, though, I'd like to discuss strategies in regards to halting the Reds. According to recent recon reports, it seems the Reds have begun working on some sort of new project. What, I'm not sure. But, just to be on the safe said, I think it's best we work on counter measures."

"Yeah I've been thinking about our orders from Command...uh, Cappy." Church raised a hand in protest. "And I gotta tell you, I don't think three guys plus one girl is enough to stage such an elaborate counter measure."

Tucker snickered. "Yeah, you should listen to him, Captain." he said, ribbing Church in the side. "He sounds like he knows what he's doing."

"Can it, shitbird."

"Men, your delightful tomfoolery puts a spring in my step, and a bounce in my britches." the aqua colored soldier said, positively beaming. "If I weren't your commanding officer I'd pick you both up, give you a giant bear hug and make you call me Daddy."

Carolina gagged while hiding her discomfort. _Dear god, you just gave them the same speech you did when you were working with the staff onboard the Mother of Invention._ She thought in mock horror and disgust, wondering if Florida was always so chipper or something. Even so, hearing the speech again, and somewhat directed towards _her_ no less, was just disturbing on so many levels.

"Well, thank god for the chain of command." she said rather dryly.

"Amen." Church agreed whole-heartedly.

"Now." Florida clapped his hands together, bringing attention back to him. "I know you're worried about our mission. But I can tell you this. There's nothing, more important to me, than the safety, and well-being, of my men. Or my name, isn't Captain. Butch. Flowers."

* * *

 _Project Freelancer, "Mother of Invention" - Years Ago_

* * *

Carolina pushed her thoughts about the strange AI called Church out of her thoughts as she entered the main deck, where several personnel were located, either operating at the nearest console or moving about, tending to other tasks such as checking up on the other soldiers and other menial tasks. Naturally, however, she ignored them and moved straight to where the single most important individual in Project Freelancer waited, at the central hub of the entire ship with Aiden Price at his side.

The Director of Project Freelancer himself.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" Carolina reported, body as stiff as a board as she saluted.

The Director didn't answer her immediately. "We will finish this discussion later, Counselor." he said, voice as cold as ice. Price looked somewhat disappointed, but nodded and made his way off the deck, momentarily stopping to give Carolina a greeting before making his way. As he left, the Director, back still facing her, spoke. "I understand that there was a viral infiltration attempt on your personal console, Agent Carolina."

"Yes." she answered immediately. "According to investigation, it was regarded as unsuccessful. Even so, I've asked our personnel to analyze my console, in the event the infiltration did in fact succeed."

"A wise choice." Carolina felt her heart soar at that short praise, but otherwise kept her face straight. "But we can discuss this matter later. You are aware that Agents North and South Dakota have been assigned to retrieve vital information at the Insurrection Base Site Bravo, correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"I want you to act as insurance." the Director told her simply. "Should they fail, it will be up to you to clean up the mess. As you've stated in your report, Agent South is impulsive in her actions. The percentage of her failing to maintain the stealth aspect of the mission are approximately . Even if she is paired up with Agent North, the odds are still quite high."

"Understood, sir. When do I leave?"

"Effective immediately, Agent Carolina." The Director tilted his head slightly, but not enough for her to see his eyes. "Do not let me down."

She nodded, and turned on her heel. No one noticed the smallest grin touching her face or the bounce in her steps as she left the bridge, making her way straight to the shuttle bay.

Today was going to be a good day.

* * *

 _Blood Gulch – Present Day_

* * *

Carolina had attempted to retire for the day, once Florida's meeting had concluded. Unfortunately, like her first day here, she was unable to get some sleep. For some odd reason, she felt restless. Hoping to ease it, she decided to go out for a little walk.

She still hadn't gotten used to Blood Gulch, but she supposed she never would. Not when she was practically demoted, all so she could save that rude asshole that she considered a friend. She also gave some thoughts as to whether or not she could possibly help change things. While she didn't remember every detail, she did remember some of the more prominent details.

Tex arriving when Church's body was killed.

Wyoming being hired by VIC and Omega to deal with Tucker.

The whole "time-traveling" shtick.

The alien impregnating Tucker.

Those were just the ones that stuck out to her the most. She really did question that last one, though. She knew the Covenant had some strange ways of reproducing, but being able to impregnate a male via a parasitic embryo? Where would the baby even come out from?

Sadly, the image burned into her head and shuddered, hoping to god she would be able to purge it from her mind.

The day seemed quiet, the Reds weren't trying to raise a stink, and Tucker wasn't throwing passes at her. Honestly, it was a wonder how in the world he had yet to learn his lesson.

"…never thought I'd see the day when I hoped for a quiet day." Carolina remarked to herself as she made her way back to the base.

Every day in Project Freelancer was a day when she wanted action. Everyone wanted to go on a mission, hoping to improve their score on the leaderboard. Out of everyone, she had the highest score and the highest number of missions. She completed each mission thrown her way with efficiency, though she only did so she could get the Director to look at her.

Her face soured. Somehow, thinking about the man turned what should have been good memories into bitter ones.

Maybe a shower would do her some good.

Carolina arrived at the back of the base, ready to turn in for the day. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Flowers lying on the ground. "Florida?" In a panic, she quickly shot to his side and set her rifle down, picking up her comrade and putting a hand to his neck. She scowled. "Fuck!"

"Hey, captain, about that whole sniper rifle order thing I-" Church emerged from the base in a daze, hair messy and soaking wet. He stopped dead when he saw Carolina holding Flowers' body. "C-Captain? Hey, Lieutenant, what happened?!"

Off in the distance, a familiar cobalt blue soldier stared at the sight with dread and a grimace as he dragged a hand down his face.

If she ever found out he was the one who killed the captain, she was going to murder him…

* * *

 **Andy: Heeey, look who's back! The dickhead. And it took you, what, falling into depression to get your ass back in gear?**

 **Doc: Andy, that's rude. You're going to make it worse.**

 **Church: I'm just glad we're finally getting into the actual meat of the story.**

 **Tucker: What? Dude, it's been three chapters! Not that long!**


End file.
